Welome Home
by Kweh-Chocoboco
Summary: One year after the events of FFVII Advent Children, Cloud receives a letter from someone he never expected to see again.


A nice breeze was blowing through the streets of Edge. It had been about a year since Kadaj, and eventually Sephiroth had attacked the city; today, however, was a nice spring day. The people of Edge had started to pick up their lives again, rebuilding the city. Everyone who had been infected with the Geostigma had been healed; those who had lost loved ones were now able to see a bright future again.

Cloud Strife was one of these persons too. During the various battles he had lost comrades too. For a long time he had struggled with these losses. But after the battle in Edge, in the church, when he had seen two people very dear to him one last time, he knew everything was going to be okay. It had hurt to see them walk away like that, but seeing them smile the same way as when they were alive made it a bit easier to bear.

However, the blonde still missed them deeply. He thought about his deceased friends as he was leaning against an iron fence, waiting for Marlene and Denzel to walk out of the school building. Oh, what he wouldn't give to see them again. Not as spirits from the lifestream, no. He wished they could come back as real persons, alive. He had accepted the fact that it would never happen, but he couldn't just throw his biggest wish away. After all, a hero needs to have dreams, right?

He brought a hand to his head, combing through his hair with his fingers, allowing the breeze to untangle his spikey locks. He let out a sigh as he thought back to the old days. If only he could do it all over; then he surely would have done things differently. But it had no use to keep sobbing over the past; he had to live now. For them.

The school bell rang, and only a few moments later, small groups of children started exiting the building. A young brown-haired girl in a pink dress, and a boy about her age with wild hair that slightly resembled Cloud's, came into sight, and bright smiles grew on their faces when they saw Cloud. The boy started running enthusiastically, while the girl worriedly yelled at him that he should be careful not to fall. Cloud squatted, and patted their heads.

"Have you two been good today?" he asked.

The young boy nodded, motioning Cloud to lift him on his back.

"Oh no, Denzel, you haven't!" the girl replied, crossing her arms. "Cloud, Denzel brought a grasshopper into the classroom today! And he put it on the teacher's chair!"

"Shhhhh, you promised you wouldn't tell him, Marlene!" Denzel replied. He turned to Cloud, giggling. "You should have seen the teacher's face though! It was awesome!"

Cloud shook his head and laughed softly. "Now Denzel, that's not very nice, is it?" he said, ruffling Denzel's fluffy hair. He looked at the two children, smiling. Just like himself, Denzel had opened up more. Sometimes he still had his quiet moments where he looked sad, but nowadays he laughed much more. It was great to see how Denzel and Marlene, even though they were not related at all, were like a brother and sister. It was almost as if they always had been together.

* * *

They started walking home; Cloud, with Denzel on his back, and Marlene, laughing at Denzel's laziness. After a few minutes of walking through Edge, they arrived at the bar, Seventh Heaven, where they lived. After the destruction of Midgar as it used to be, Tifa had set up her bar again in Edge, and business was booming.

Even though Cloud and Tifa were living together, with the children, they weren't in a relationship. Tifa had accepted that Cloud did not like her in that way, his heart had belonged to someone else, and she had moved on from her old crush. It was not like they didn't care for each other, definitely not. But it just wasn't in a romantic way; they were more like brother and sister.

Cloud put Denzel down, allowing himself to open the door. Upon entering, they were greeted by a cheerful Tifa who was standing behind the counter, cleaning glasses and chatting with a few customers. She hugged the children, and asked them about their day; they replied enthusiastically.

After Denzel and Marlene had gone outside to play, Tifa patted on one of the bar chairs, asking Cloud to sit down. She put her left hand in her pocket, and took something out. She placed a thin, light blue envelope on the counter; Cloud's name was written on it in a neat handwriting.

"When I opened the bar this afternoon, I found this on the counter. I don't know how it got there, but I guess it's important, huh."

Cloud looked at the envelope, surprised. There was no stamp or address on the envelope, just his name. That meant someone would have had to have brought it there in person. He could not think of anyone who would do that; the handwriting didn't resemble that from any of his close friends. It looked like a _certain _person's handwriting, but… That just wasn't possible. There was no way_ that _person could have written him a letter.

He nodded and mumbled a quick 'thank you' and went upstairs. He quickly walked to his room, and closed the door. He looked at the envelope in his hands for a few more moments, and then carefully opened it, with trembling hands.

Opening it revealed a small sheet of paper, the stationary had the same light blue color as the envelope.

_Dear Cloud,_

_Hey buddy, haven't seen you for a long time. How many years has it been now, ten? _

_What do you say we meet at the church this afternoon? I'll be waiting there for you._

Cloud stared at the letter, not being able to believe what was written in it. Ten years. That is exactly when _it _happened. That is exactly when _he _died. This was not possible; it must have been a cruel joke.

However, only moments after that, he found himself sitting on Fenrir, his motorcycle, on his way to the slums of the city that once had been so big. After Meteorfall though, not much was left of that city; nobody lived there anymore these days.

When he took off his sunglasses, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. This could not be reality, this wasn't possible. On the steps in front of the old church sat a woman, dressed in pink, her curly brown hair held together in a braid by a pink ribbon.

She smiled at him, pointing at the door. "Go, he's in there", she said softly.

Cloud opened the doors slowly, not sure what to expect. He didn't dare to open his eyes yet, he was afraid of the disappointment that he was sure he was going to face. But he finally did open them, when he felt two strong arms gently wrapping him into an embrace; a few tears escaped his eyes.

A hand lifted his face, Cloud's eyes met equally blue orbs. The tears were wiped off his face, gently, and he was pulled into another hug, which he returned.

_"Welcome home, Zack."_


End file.
